School Prayer?

[EJO]

What do you all think of prayer in schools. Up front lead by the teacher, endorsed by the school?

Why can't a student just pray silently at his/her desk, without bothering the (unbelieving)student next to them?
It seems the push for prayer in school is to have a teacher lead the class in prayer.

What if the teacher is an unbeliever? Or the students are unbelievers?

Would the School need to hire a minister to lead in a school prayer (similar to a pro-sports team)?

Should it be a priest, rabbi, pastor, shaman, or someother paid holy man?

No thanks, I'll sit at my desk, and cradel my head over my test and say a quick one. No help from the state on that one.

 

[VOW]

If you want your children to have school prayer, then you will have to pay for it, out of your own pocket. I did, in the early grades, for my kids. They both attended parochial school, my daughter to 4th grade, my son to 2nd grade.

There was prayer, there was the blessing at mealtime, there were lessons about God. I wish I could have afforded to send them further, but at least they had a very structured beginning.

It was worth it to me.



Peace,
~VOW

 

[EJO]

Private school, yes.
I was refering to public school.
I homeschool my kids.
So I make 'em pray!

 

[LilyLamb]

there is no reason your children can't pray in public school

the high school my girls went to had a Bible Club ... they would meet together and pray regularly ... my girls would pray wherever they wanted and whenever they wanted (lunch, before a test, before school) and they did it without attracting a lot of attention or being disrespectful.

it's not illegal to pray in public schools

 

[IslandBreeze]

They're right; students CAN pray in schools. They can do Christian reports, wear Christian T-shirts, and even read their Bibles.

I am a Christian, and I have a problem with teacher-led prayer. What if the teacher were Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist? I wouldn't want my child participating in a prayer to one of those gods. I'd rather my child pray with other students or pray to him/herself.

 

[chriso]

When I was comming up in school we had prayer every morning. Along with the pledge (one nation Under God)

 

[Kelly]

I don't think that prayer should be led by the school (think of the extreme - what if the US's majority religion ever changes to Islam?).

I think that schools should allow private time for such activity, allow kids to pray privately (or in groups that they willingly join), before they eat, etc.

Afterschool groups should be allowed to pray and make their belief known to other students.

 

[LovingMother]

I don't know that I want a teacher leading my kids in prayer, since being a Christian is not a prerequisite to becoming a teacher in public schools. However, I was persecuted in high school for carrying my Bible and praying silently to myself and I believe that is wrong.

I was kicked out of my high school grammer course for reading my Bible during silent reading time. My teacher directed me to read something else and turn my Bible over to her. When I asked why she wanted to take my Bible from me she told me "you may not read that here" and told me to leave.

Our school library had a number of religeous texts, but the Bible was not one of them.

During my first year at this high school, there was a Bible club. By the end of the year, school officials had disbanded the club and some of it's members were expelled for continuing to discuss the Bible in the hallways between classes.

To beat all, this was a school in Virginia, right here in the "Bible Belt". My school was more concerned with political correctness and was worried that they might offend somebody by allowing Christians to read their Bibles and maybe even share the Word. Why is it that nobody seems to worry about offending Christians?

 

[LovingMother]

I thought I would share with you some local developments along these lines. In Albermarle County in Virginia many of the teachers post a rainbow triangle on their doors. Parents came to learn that this was a symbol for homosexuality and requested that the triangles be taken down because public school is not the place for their children to learn about homosexuality. The schoolboard denied the request.

Also, a young man at the high school was wearing a shirt that said "Jesus saves bikers, too". A school official asked him to remove it or leave school. At the school board meeting last night, no school official would admit to the act, but they wouldn't hear the boy's side at the meeting. Instead, they have decided to investigate behind closed doors and say that "if" they find a school official that did this they would "take care of it internally".

 

[E-beth]

yikes!

Lord willing, I want to either homeschool or send my son to a Christian school when he gets to be school-aged.

 

[Inspired]

I thought I would share with you some local developments along these lines. In Albermarle County in Virginia many of the teachers post a rainbow triangle on their doors. Parents came to learn that this was a symbol for homosexuality and requested that the triangles be taken down because public school is not the place for their children to learn about homosexuality. The schoolboard denied the request.

Also, a young man at the high school was wearing a shirt that said "Jesus saves bikers, too". A school official asked him to remove it or leave school. At the school board meeting last night, no school official would admit to the act, but they wouldn't hear the boy's side at the meeting. Instead, they have decided to investigate behind closed doors and say that "if" they find a school official that did this they would "take care of it internally".

I just wanted to clarify what the rainbow triangles are for. They are part of the S.A.F.E. program. It it's not a program that teaches about homosexuality, nor does it promote it. Teachers put them on teir door to show that they are a safe place for a student to go, who needs to talk, or if they are being harrassed by faculty and/or other students. The teachers themselves don't do the counseling, but act as a middle man to get them help. It's a good porgram, in Tuscallosa the program was a joint effort between the local churches and the University. You don't have to believe in homosexuality to believe the children have a right to go to school without being harrased and tormented.


As for the t-shirt, they violated his rights.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/publicschools/faqs.aspx?id=6387


May students wear religious garb and display religious symbols in public schools?
Yes. Students who must wear religious garb such as head scarves or yarmulkes should be permitted to do so in school. Students may also display religious messages on clothing to the same extent that other messages are permitted.


The only way they can prevent him from wearing that shirt is if the school has a rule that no printed shirts can be worn, or if it falls into the offensive category i.e "God hates F***"

 

[LovingMother]

I just wanted to clarify what the rainbow triangles are for. They are part of the S.A.F.E. program. It it's not a program that teaches about homosexuality, nor does it promote it. Teachers put them on teir door to show that they are a safe place for a student to go, who needs to talk, or if they are being harrassed by faculty and/or other students. The teachers themselves don't do the counseling, but act as a middle man to get them help. It's a good porgram, in Tuscallosa the program was a joint effort between the local churches and the University. You don't have to believe in homosexuality to believe the children have a right to go to school without being harrased and tormented.

Thank you for the clarification. I think the problem with them here is that a group of teachers has abused the use of the triangles to promote their beliefs about homosexuality and that has tainted the validity of the program as far as local parents are concerned. Being one of the tormented myself, I agree with you totally that students should have somewhere to go, but, in my own experience, even the most well meaning teachers didn't have a clue. I hope that they are getting better training to deal with the situations that their students have to deal with these days.